Cord Magick with Stinging Nettle Thread BY RADIANA PIȚ

Introducing the energy of various plants into your system offers you the possibility to use them as resources for your Work. The stinging nettle is a phytomorphic embodiment of the war god Mars. No wonder it proved itself to be an efficient soldier in dealing with the fire of love. Of course, there are other magickal ways to work with the stinging nettle, such as wearing it as a talisman in your pockets, a doll, or a bag to protect you from lightning, jinxes, and hexes.

The way you can use it is very similar to how you can carry a four-leaf clover on you to bring you good luck. So the methods are only limited by your imagination. But one of the more intriguing ways of working with the sacred herb is to use it in knot magick, also known as cord magick. Most often, the types of spells used in knot magick are binding spells, since the tying of knots is symbolic of controlling the threads of the Fates.

As you can imagine, this type of binding spell is incredibly old and it can easily be associated with many legends in universal mythology, such as the Gordian Knot and the Knot of Heracles in Greek mythology, or the Knot of Ham in Jewish mythology. This practice is also found among sailors, who tied their knots to bind the wind and untie the knots to release it. Throughout time, witches have adapted this type of binding spell to their own crafts and have used strings, ribbons, threads, and yarns made from various fabrics and in a variety of colors to suit the work they were doing and to reflect their will and intent.

In Romanian tradition, the use of a string or thread made from stinging nettle is commonly used to bind a lover to you. There are many variations I’ve come across as to how you can do this binding spell and they are all very similar to each other, just with a few tweaks here and there. This may be so because some areas of the country have their own local interpretations, just like many individual witches alter it to make it more personal to themselves and their respective communities. However, I tend to stick to the method that was passed down to me by an elder when it comes to sharing it with other people.

Binding Spell with Stinging Nettle Thread

To bind someone to you-you need a string or a thread made from stinging nettle and, of course, favorable astrological conditions. The thread made from stinging nettle is said to kindle the heart of the lover and make it burn with desire for the caster, by Mars’ grace.

Likewise, the passionate burning can hurt and cause pain if the lover cannot find their way to the caster, so be mindful of that. On a New Moon night, tie 9 knots in the same direction behind your back and say the following 9 times as you tie each knot:

New Moon, New Moon,Brighten up the night,For (lover’s name) is marrying toThe daughter/son of (name of the caster’s father)And he comes bearing the giftsOf pearls made of kindlingAnd earrings made of snowdrops.

The cord may be imbued with energy and power through different methods, such as soaking it into a sacred oil or a smoke bath of holy incense. Additionally, it can be left on a ceremonial altar to charge itself with energy sources placed in a pattern of your choosing. Organic sources that correspond to the elements that reflect your desire are preferable. Photo: Radiana Piț | Instagram: @crowhag

The cord is kept until the Full Moon of that same month when it is placed in a concealed place, such as under a rug or a doormat so that the bound lover can step over it without knowing so. After the bound lover stepped over it once, the cord must be immediately removed from there and depending on your desire, you can either keep it (and even wear it) so you can untie the knots later, thus releasing the lover if the outcome is not what you hoped for. Or you can throw it in the fire so that no one can unbind the spell, other than Mars, who rules over stinging nettles. If the bound lover steps over the cord a second time, the spell cannot bind him anymore, and the work becomes undone.

You can alter this binding spell to not only control the heart of a lover but to control situations in your life or aspects of yourself that seem to get out of hand. Simply alter the incantation to suit the situation and think of the approach you’re going for. For example, the progressive approach is to use the cord to trap the power of your will into the knots and then release it over time by untying them. With this method, you release the power within the knots to become productive, but you can also undo the spell depending on the context of your work.

The more definitive approach is to think of the knots as “permanent traps” and then release their power (not unbind the spell) by burning the cord, preferably in communion with lords of fire, such as god Mars. Also, you can either wear the cord or keep it in a place that is sacred to you until you untie every knot or burn it. Cord magic is fundamentally a simple, but it can become complex when it comes down to specifics. Whatever you wish to do with it is only up to you.

Burning the cord during a ceremony, although definitive, is very potent. By burning the cord you invoke that which you desire to come forth out of the knots you have tied, while also releasing the binds which keep you from manifesting your intention. You can tie the knots and create the cord during a New Moon and burn it during a Full Moon. Photo: Radiana Piț | Instagram: @crowhag